Leading staff



R; F. RAsMussEN LEADING STAFF Filed Nov. 18 1920 Patented July 31, 1923.

STATlEg ROBERT F. EASMUSSEN, OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO (1 A LIBBEY 00., OF OSHKOSI-I, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

LEADING STAFF.

Application filed November 18, 1920. Serial No. 424,918.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, ROBERT F. RasmussEN,'a citizen of the United States, and resident of Oshkosh, in the county of Winnebago and State of lVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Leading Staffs, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a stable appliance and refers more particularly to a leading staff. The leading staffs now in general everyday use are faulty in that to insert the hook within the nose ring of a bull it is necessary for the operator to get up to the bull and insert the hooked end in the ring with one hand and operate the securing means with the other hand, the securing means being positioned adjacent the hook, thus necessitating the operator placing himself dangerously close to the bulls head.

This invention is designed to obviate this disadvantage by providing means for closing the hook, which means are operated from a position adjacent the balancing point of the staff so that the operator can balance the staff with his bodypositioned at the farthest possible point from the bulls head and at the sametime, if necessary, employ his other hand to insert the hook into the ring.

Another object of this invention is to provide a leading staff having positive means for closing the throat of the hook and controlled by a grip member slidably mounted upon the staff at or near its balancing point and having means for releasably securing the grip member in a position leaving the hook throat open against action of spring means that normally tend to urge the parts to a position closing the hook throat.

A further object of this invention is to provide a leading staff of the class described so designed and constructed as to be extremely simple and capable of production at a comparatively small cost.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

The single perspective view illustrates a leading staff embodying my invention, parts thereof being broken away and in section to 1more clearly illustrate the structural detai s. v

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the numeral 5, designates an elongated staff, preferably formed of tubing and having one end closed by a handle 6 and the other end closed by a socket 7 carrying a hook member 8, the throat of which is formed by the end 9 substantially in alinementwith the axis of the staff. The throat 10 of the hook 8 is normally closed by the outer end 11 of a rod 12 mounted within the staff. and having- ,means connected therewith for moving the same inwardly and outwardly, said means being positioned preferably at the balancing point of the staff.

The staff 5 is provided wi'tha pair of longitudinally extending alined slots 13 at or near its balancing point, and slidably mounted over the staff and covering the slots 13 is a sleeve or grip member 14 having a pin or rivet 15 connected therewith and extending through the slots 13 and the rod 12. The rod 12 is fiattenedqand apertured, as at 16 where the pin passes therethrough. From this construction, it will be readily seen that with the grip member 14 moved to bring the pin 15 to a position at or near the outer ends of the slots 13, the end 11 f the rod will engage the hook end 9 and close the throat 10. j

The rod 12 is normally urged outwardly to its position with its end 11 closing the hook throat 10 by an extensile spring 17 coiled about the rod 12 and confined between the pin 15 and a block 18 in the bore 19 of which the extreme inner end of the rod 12 is slidably mounted. Thus it will be seen that the ends of the spring-l7 are at all times under tension against the block 18 and 7 pin 15 to urge the rod 12 outwardly of the staff at its end closed by the hook carrying cap 7.

As, in inserting the book 8 in the nose ring of a bull, it is desirable that the throat 10 be clear but at the same time capable of instantaneous closing with the least possible trouble, the slots 13 have offset recesses 20 at their inner end whereby a withdrawal of the rod 12, by the grip member 14, to bring the pin 15 in alinement with the recesses 24) and then a partial rotation of said grip member will engage the pin 15 in said re Cesses and secure the rod 12 against out-ward movement under action of spring 17. With the parts in this position, when the hook 8 has been inserted in the nose ring of the bull, it is merely necessary to twist or turn the grip member 14 a. slight distance to bring'the pin 15 in alinenient with slots 13, when the spring i? will instantly move the rod l2 outwardly and close the hook throat. f l t hat I claim asmy invention is:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a tubular staff provided with a bayonet slot, a hook on one end of the staff, a rod concealed within the staff and having its outer end normally closing the throat of the hook, sleeve slidably and rotata-bly mounted on the staff adjacent its balancing point to provide grip member, and a connection between said'rod and sleeve moving in said bayonet slot whereby a longitudinal moveent thereof away from the hook will open the throat thereof and a longitudinal movement of the sleeve toward the book will close the throat thereof, While an arcuate movement of said sleeve will hold said throat open.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a tubular staff provided with a pair of oppositely disposed bayonet slots, a hook on one end of the staff, a longitudinally movable rod concealed within the staff and arranged to have its outer end normally close tie throat of the hook, a sleeve slidably and rotatably mounted on the staff adjacent its balancing point to form a grip member, a pin engaging said bayonet slots and rigidly connecting said rod and sleeve whereby a movement thereof away from the hook will open the throat thereof and a movement of said sleeve toward the hook will close the throat thereof while an arouate movement of said sleeve will position said pin in said slots to releasably hold said throat open, means yieldingly urging the rod to its position closing the throat of the hook.

3. A device of the class described, comprising a tubular staff, a hook on one end of the staff with its throat substantially in alincment with the axis of the staff, a rod positioned within the staff and having its outer and normally closing the throat of the hook, the inner end of said rod passing be yond the balancing point of the staff, a cenfrally bored block secured in the staff adjacent its balancing point and in, the bore of which the inner end of said rod is slidably mounted, a grip member slidably mounted on the staff at the balancing point thereof, the part of the staff over which said member is mounted being slotted, a pin connecting said member and rod, and a spring confined between said pin and block to normally urge said rod toward the hook to close the throat thereof.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

ROBERT F. BASMUSSEN. 

